Cup or hole-rim for golf-links.



H. HINUKLEY. CUP 0B. HOLE RIM FOR GOLF LINKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1909.

Patented Feb. l, 1910.

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il i l HOWARD HINCKLEY, OF CAlVIDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA.

CUP `OR HOLE-RIM FOR GOLF-LINKS.

ornato.

Specification of Letters Patent.

`Ratented lFcb. i, 19M).

Application filed March 25, 1909. Serial No. 485,687.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, HOWARD HINCKLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Camden, county of Kershaw, State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Cups or Hole-Rims for Golf-Links; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The golf holes which are cut in the sod or clay of the golf putting-green are made by a suitable cutter or tool of stand:` d size in order to make the holes of standard diameter Vand depth on all golf courses.

These holes are usually lined with metal cups or hole rims to receive the ball and these cups or hole rims must therefore be made to fit exactly in the holes made by the cutter in the ground. The cups or hole rims, as heretofore constructed, however, have the disadvantage that While at iirst they may lit exactly within the hole and have their upper edges flush with the level of the ground, yet the action of rains, frost, or leverage exerted by the wind on the marker-rod which is usually supported in the cups or rims, causes the cup to work either in upward or downward direction with respect to the level of the ground so that the upper edge of the cup is displaced out of its proper position. In case the cup works downward in the hole it must be removed for the introduction of earth into the hole, after which the cup is replaced. In case the cup works upward it must bedriven back into the ground and this often results in the injury or breakage of the cup, especially if it is made of cast metal.

This invention aims to avoid these disadvantages inherent in the cups or hole rims as heretofore constructed, and to provide a cup for the purpose indicated which may be quickly and accurately adjusted to any devl sired vertical position in the golf hole without removing the cup from the ground.

To this end the invention consists in a clip or hole rim provided with means by which it may be fed upward or downward in the soil adjacent the O'olf hole, and this means preferably takes the form of a feed-screw applied to the cup, the latter being screwed in upward or downward direction by means of a suitable wrench, as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a vertical section of a cup constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the manner in which it is positioned in the golf hole, Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cup, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l, but showing a cup of modified form, Fig. et is a similar View of a 4cup of further lnodiiied form, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the toolor wrench by which the cu p is fed into or out of the soil.

Referring to the drawing', and more espe-- cially to Fig. l, A B, denotes the ground level of the putting-green and C the golfhole, the latter being cut in the soil as far as the line D E, which indicates the bottom of the hole. Within the hole thus formed is placed a cup G provided at its lower portion with a tubular socket 7 in which the markerrod 8 is adapted to be held, a portion of said marker-rod being indicated by dotted lines. The marker-rod extends down into the cup and through the socket T into the earth, in order to firmly position it in the well known manner. The marker-rod socket 'a' is utilized to carry the adjusting means by which my improved cup can be fed in upward oi downward direction in the golf hole, and to this end a feed-screw or spiral 9 is formed on the outer surface of said socket below th2 bottom of the cup, said feed-screw being fed into the earth at the bottom of the golf hole as shown. The width of the feed-screw corresponds to that of the cup so that the convolutions of the screw extend completely to the wall of the hole. The bottom of the cup is provided with oppositely located openings 10 to receive a wrench or other tool to effect the feeding movement of the cup, as will hereinafter appear.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, the feedscrew, instead of being carried by the markerrod socket, is locatedat the periphery of the cup at its under portion. Said feedscrew, denoted by the reference character 11, is carried by a cylindrical wall 12 eX- tending downward from the bottom of the cup, the space between opposite points in said wall being only slightly less than the diameter of the cup 6X. In this case the convolutions of the screw are of considerably less width than those shown in Fig. l and operate only at the circumference of the golf hole as shown. The marker-rod socket 13 is substantially shorter in this form, it

`being located centrally within the cylindrical wall 12.

In the forms of the device so far described, the cup, marker-rod socket, and the feedscrew are cast in one piece, as shown, so that the entire device may be made at one operation. However, the cup may take the form shown in Fig. 4, in which the body 14 is made of sheet metal and riveted at its lower edge by means of rivets 15 to an upright flange 16 formed on the bottom 17, with which the marker-rod socket and feedscrew are cast integrally. In this case, also, the bottom of the cup is straight instead of being curved, but the wrench-receiving openings 18 are located therein in substantially the manner hereinbefore described.

Vhen the improved cup is to be inserted in the golf hole it is placed in the latter and fed downward therein by means of a suitable wrench or tool 19 having projections 2O which enter the openings in the bottom of the cup and are locked therein on rotation of the cup by means of shoulders 21 which engage under the bottom of the cup, as shown in Fig. 3. By rotating the wrench 19, the cup may be fed downward in the soil until its upper edge lies exactly flush with the ground level A B, as shown in Fig. 1. The wrench is then removed and the marker-rod 8 inserted in its socket 7, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. Should the cup subsequently work upward or downward in the hole it will only be necessary to apply the wrench 19, turning it in the proper direction. As the shoulders 21 fit beneath the bottom of the cup the latter may be lifted entirely out of the golf l hole by means of the wrench when such is desired. The cup thus carries means by which it may be adjusted very readily into the proper position with respect to the hole, and this adjustment of the cup may be easily maintained at all times.

That I claim is 1. A cup for golf holes, having means for feeding it upward or downward in the golf hole.

2. A cup for golf holes, having means to engage the soil beneath the cup and work the cup upward or downward as the cup is turned on its axis.

3. A cup for golf holes, having a feedscrew.

t. A cup for golf holes, having a feedscrew at its under portion.

5. A cup for golf holes, having a perforated bottom adapted for engagement with a wrench, and a feed-screw below said bottom and movable by the action of such wrench into or out of the soil.

6. A cup for golf holes, having a markerrod socket, and a feed-screw for the cup l carried by said socket.

7. A cupfor golf holes, having a markerrod socket integral therewith, and an adjusting screw for the cup integral with said socket.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD HINCKLEY.

Witnesses 1 lV. E. JOHNSON, J r., E. A. SALMEND. 

